


Amantes Sunt Amentes

by BellatrixBlack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Original Character(s), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Young Bellatrix Black Lestrange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:09:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29549802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellatrixBlack/pseuds/BellatrixBlack
Summary: Pairing: Bellatrix Black / Original CharacterTimeline: Bellatrix's school years (1960's)Age: 18+Triggers/Warnings: possible mental health topics, slurs, homophobia, racism (if we can call the pureblood ideals something akin to this), violence, smutMain Characters: Bellatrix Black, Nell Drake (OC), Katie Dawe (OC)Nell Drake is a muggleborn girl who finds out she has magical abilities and consequently embarks on her 7 year journey through Hogwarts, where she meets Bellatrix Black - a girl who shares her family's pureblood ideals. Naturally there is instant friction but can they resolve their issues to become friends or will their own beliefs and views drive them to destruction?**Amantes Sunt Amentes - Lovers Are Crazy**
Relationships: Bellatrix Black Lestrange & Original Character(s), Bellatrix Black Lestrange & Original Female Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes**

Hi! I'm new to the Harry Potter fanfiction community (although not new to writing fanfiction) and wanted to write some sort of covering statement before the story if that is OK! I'll keep it as short as I can!

I won't reveal my real name for privacy reasons but my online aliases tend to go by Bella or Isabella and I use she/her pronouns, just in case you end up talking about this work and reference me, the author. 

I am not the best at updating fics, I will not lie to you. You may get a couple of chapters a week or have to wait a week or 2 for another chapter. I do work full time and therefore don't always feel like writing and don't always have the time. I have started working away at this fic though and I am loving the little story line I have planned out so FINGERS CROSSED it should be fairly regular updates!

As not much is known about Bellatrix's time at school, a lot of this is my own creation but using what I can from JKR's books and movies. I will try to keep her personality as close to real, written Bellatrix as possible but alas, this is fanfiction - it does not have to be perfect. Most of the characters will be original characters due to the fact that there's very little information about who was in Bellatrix's year at school. 

This is a slow burn fic. It's not going to be over in a couple of chapters and I am very sorry for this (also not sorry, let's be honest). Some chapters may be really long, some only 2k words. I will do my best to keep all my spelling and grammar correct but please do let me know if anything is wrong (nicely, please) and I will correct it. 

I also want to make very clear that I do not support JKR or endorse her harmful comments towards the trans community and many other people. If your views align with hers, please feel free to not read my work. 

Just one final note from me and that is thank you for reading. I am very nervous about putting this out as I haven't published any Harry Potter fanfiction before and just get nervous sharing my fics anyway so please be nice in the comments and I hope you enjoy the story!


	2. Chapter 2 - First Year (1962)

**Chapter 1**

“Nellie, come on! You can’t miss the train!” Mum calls from nearly 10 meters from me, looking impatient as I struggle with the luggage cart that holds a large trunk, a small backpack full of my essentials and my Doctor Martens that didn’t quite fit in my trunk. I roll my eyes - it is easy for her to rush ahead when she isn’t pushing a trolley easily weighing a tonne. OK, perhaps that’s an exaggeration but you get the picture. It’s really heavy. 

The clock on the main concourse tells us we have 10 minutes to get to Platform 9 ¾ and while it seems like a perfectly decent amount of time, mum has it fixed in her mind that I will miss the train and miss out on my opportunity to go to Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

It was a warm, muggy evening when the thin lipped, Scottish woman declaring herself as Professor McGonagall had arrived at our house. She’d been wearing green robes and a black pointy hat. Initially, dad had thought it was a joke until she’d handed him a letter addressed to me and told him she knew all about my “little mishaps”, as my parents called them. 

For years, I’d done things I couldn’t explain. I’d once set a girl’s hair on fire in class while she was teasing me, just by imagining her burning in the pits of hell. I’d also been able to slam doors with my mind and move objects without lifting a finger. My parents sent me to psychiatrists who had wanted to send me away to a psychiatric hospital but my mother cried and refused to let them take me. So we just learned to cope with my unusual abilities. 

But that one home visit answered all our questions… and left us with more. My parents had rowed after McGonagall had left, blaming each other for my magical abilities. How on earth was I a witch?! Dad suspected mum’s sister Irene but mum retaliated by blaming dad’s mother because there was no chance _she_ wasn’t a witch and an evil one at that. Eventually the arguing stopped and the anger turned to despair over how my parents were going to afford all my new equipment for school. I needed books, a wand, robes, quills… the list was extensive and we had no idea how to fund it let alone where to find it. 

Our afternoon trip to Diagon Alley had been an interesting experience. Mum and dad looked constantly out of their depth while I looked in amazement at the different shops and their various wares. It felt so natural to me yet so unfamiliar. When buying my wand, it had felt like an extension of my own body yet being able to wave it and cause chaos in the store with just a flick of my wrist felt so abnormal that I wanted to put the wand down and run away from any mention of the word ‘magic’. Mr Ollivander had been intrigued by the wand that had chosen me - a 13 inch elder wood wand with dragon heartstring core. I had no idea what it meant but Mr Ollivander had told me that my wand was powerful and I’d be able to achieve amazing things with it if I used it wisely. 

Dad hadn’t been able to join me and mum at Kings Cross this morning so me and mum took the bus into central London and lugged my trunk through the streets until we got to the station. It took us a while to find my ticket but neither of us knew where Platform 9 ¾ would be. 

I push my trolley with all my might and follow mum to platform 9. We stand for a moment before catching sight of an older boy pushing a trolley with similar contents to mine. 

“Excuse me, sir!” Mum collars him and he stops walking to look at us. He looks me up and down before humming. 

“First time?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow. I nod. 

“Yes, and we have no idea how to get to Platform 9 ¾.” Mum responds. I groan internally that she felt the need to answer for me. 

“Well, you’ll have to stay here. I’m going to assume you’re a muggle if you haven’t any idea how to get onto the platform. As for this young lady…” He looks at me and flashes me a charming grin. 

“Just take a deep breath and follow me.” 

He rolls his neck round once before walking straight towards the brick pillar in front of us. Mum gasps, making a move to grab him before he collides head first into the wall but instead of rebounding on impact, he disappears into thin air. My jaw falls to the floor. What if I couldn’t do it? What if I ended up giving myself nothing more than a concussion?

I look at mum, who’s checking her watch. 

“You better get going. There’s 5 minutes until the train leaves.” She swallows hard and holds out her arms to hug me. I step into her embrace, reciprocating the hug and inhaling the sweet smell of her perfume for the last time. She smells like home and everything I find comforting. I don’t want to leave her for 3 months until Christmas but at the same time, I do want to learn magic and meet people like me - the freaks of a society where setting a 6 year old girl’s hair on fire isn’t normal or acceptable. 

I break the hug and take a deep breath, my knuckles almost white from gripping the trolley so hard. I look back at mum.

“See you at Christmas.” I saw before breaking into a run right into the brick pillar between platform 9 and platform 10. 

I brace myself for impact but nothing comes. The station changes from dirty London railway station, to a grand platform which is bustling with families helping their children onto a large red steam train labelled as the Hogwarts Express. My eyes widen but I try to wipe the stunned expression from my face as I catch sight of the boy who’d shown me how to get onto the platform. 

“You made it then?” He grins. 

“Yeah, just about!” I say breathlessly. He nods towards my trunk.

“You want a hand getting this on the train?” 

“Oh, yes please. I can help though.” But he shakes his head. 

“No need. Leave it to me. You just take your bag and… what are those?” He points to my Doctor Martens. 

“Doc Martens. They’re a type of boot. How have you never seen Docs before?” I ask, somewhat incredulous. He shrugs. 

“We don’t have them in the magic world. Oh, I’m James. James Locket. 6th year Ravenclaw prefect.” He holds out a hand to me and I shake it. 

“Nell. Nell Drake. Nice to meet you, James.” I reply. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you too Nell but you best go get yourself a seat. Train will be setting off in a minute.” And with that, he takes my trunk and disappears.

The train is unlike any train I’ve ever travelled on before and absolutely nothing like the tube. The inside of the carriage is clean and furnished beautifully. I walk into an empty compartment and sit down by the window just as the conductor’s whistle blows. The train starts moving almost immediately and I watch as we pull out of the station past families waving to their children. My compartment door opens and a blonde girl walks in and sits opposite me. I can only stare at her, unsure what to say to her. She extends one dainty hand and I take it slowly. 

“Hi! I’m Katie Dawe. I take it you’re a first year too?”

“Yeah…” I say and she grins. 

“Fantastic! And what’s your name?”

“Nell Drake.” 

“Nell? That’s such a pretty name. Are you pureblood or half blood? Your name definitely sounds magic.” Confidence oozes out of her and I feel almost intimated. I’m by no means shy but I definitely don’t have the same extroverted personality that Katie does. 

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” I answer honestly because I don’t. What on earth does she mean by pureblood and half blood? 

“Oh. So you’re muggle born then? Raised by 2 non magic folk? That’s a shame. Not bad but explains why you look so out of your depth.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes. You look like you’ve just been thrown in the deep end of a swimming pool and don’t know how to swim! Don’t worry though. You’ll learn everything soon enough! Hogwarts is fantastic - my mum’s a witch and studied there when she was a girl. My dad’s a muggle and he hates having 2 witches in the house - we drive him mad!” I feel myself relaxing around Katie immediately. Despite being overly confident and almost cocky, I can see she means no harm. 

We settle into a comfortable silence. Katie has brought a book with her and I curl up in my seat, watching as we cut through the British countryside. My family don’t really travel much out of London. Sure, we’ve been to the odd seaside resort and had a couple of day trips to other cities to visit family but I’ve never been this far north before. The scenery is so much different and so much more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen before. Rivers swirl across the land and thick forests paint the country green. We even pass the sea once or twice, the water twinkling in the late afternoon sun. 

Just as the evening draws in, we pull into a station - a large sign on the platform declaring it as ‘Hogsmeade’. Butterflies in my stomach make me nauseous as I follow Katie onto the platform, joining the other first years in a small group away from the other students. We’re told that we need to cross the lake in boats before reaching the castle - Katie loses her confidence almost immediately. 

“I’m not too keen on water.” She whispers as we follow the teacher to the lake. I’m nervous too but try to do my best to reassure her. 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t let us do anything dangerous.. We’ll be fine!” 

The boat ride is - pardon the pun - magical. As the castle came into view, all the first years had gasped in awe at the sight. The castle is huge and sits on a large rock which towers over the lake. Lights in almost every window twinkle down on us like stars in the night sky. We exit the boats and head up a flight of stairs, into a courtyard in front of 2 large doors. A woman stands in front of the doors and I immediately recognise her as Professor McGonagall. 

“You are about to enter Hogwarts, where you will spend the next 7 years studying magic and learning skills you will use for the rest of your life. Before you can begin, you must first be sorted into your house - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. These houses will be like your family and your actions will determine whether you lose or gain points for your house. Now, if you’d like to follow me the sorting ceremony will begin shortly.”

We’re led into a great hall already filled with other students. The watch as we walk down the centre of the room, gawking at the floating candles and the ceiling which looks exactly like the night sky. 

A stool has been placed at the front of the hall and the first girl called strides up to it confidently and sits down on it. She’s remarkably beautiful - long, wild brunette hair and big dark eyes. This, coupled with her black robes, makes her look deathly pale but not unhealthily so. Despite the glowing complexion though, she looks overly confident and almost mean. An old, worn hat is placed on her head and almost immediately declares her a Slytherin. She grins and practically runs to sit with the group of cheering students at the far side of the hall. 

There’s a couple more students to go before Katie is called up. It’s an agonising couple of minutes before she is declared a Slytherin too. She joins the wild haired girl at the Slytherin table and is greeted with high fives and cheers from the other Slytherins. My stomach drops. What if I’m sorted into a different house? I don’t know anyone else! 

I don’t have time to dwell though because my name is called next. 

I make my way up to the stool and sit down nervously. Professor McGonagall places the hat on my head and a soft voice fills my head. 

_“Well, you are a remarkable girl aren’t you? A muggleborn yet you have already proved yourself to be a skilled witch… especially where fire is concerned!”_

I feel myself blushing. 

_“You have plenty of determination, yet lack the selfless courage of a Gryffindor. Hmm… definitely not a Hufflepuff although you do have the intelligence of a Ravenclaw. But, you have the ambition and resourcefulness of a Slytherin and if sorted into Slytherin, you could achieve great things… hmmm… I think it has to be_ Slytherin!”

The Slytherin table erupts into cheering once more and I go to join Katie and the other students at the table. 

“Welcome to Slytherin!” A boy with almost silver hair reaches over to shake my hand. I take it and smile.

“Thank you!” I say graciously, smoothing my robes out and watching the rest of the sorting ceremony. 

Katie, the other brunette and I are the only first year Slytherin girls but 4 boys also get sorted into the house. Once the ceremony is over, food is served and conversations strike up everywhere. Katie and I talk over our meal but nobody tries to join in. The brunette opposite us seems to be talking to everyone as though she’s known them for years and I can’t help but wonder if she actually has known them for years. Her messy hair seems to be forever falling in her face but she absentmindedly brushes it away every now and then, without caring at all. At one point, she looks over to me and raises her eyebrows but I look away quickly, realising I’ve been caught staring. 

The food is good, better than anything I’ve ever tasted before - except for maybe my mum’s homemade apple crumble which she makes every time we have someone special over. The thought of mum’s cooking and home makes me suddenly realise that I’m so far away from home and will be for quite some time. I start to realise that I’m homesick already.

“How long do you think this dinner will last?” I ask Katie, trying to keep my voice low to not attract any attention. 

“I can’t imagine it’ll be too much longer… why?”

“I feel slightly homesick and kinda want to go sleep it off.”

“It’s probably just first night nerves! I’m sure you’ll feel better once we’re settled in but look, Professor Dippet is getting up to speak.” Professor Dippet is the headmaster - a man dressed in dark purple robes with a white beard and white hair. He stands and taps his wand on the podium in front of him. Clearing his throat, he addresses the hall. 

“You may now retire to your dormitories for the night. Prefects, if you could please lead the first years’ to the common rooms.” 

There’s a commotion as students stand and begin to file out of the hall. A tall brunette girl introduces herself as a fifth year Slytherin prefect - Isabel Elks - and leads the 7 first years’ down to the Slytherin common room. Our common room is in the dungeons but I don’t have time to feel uneasy at the dark corridors because Isabel opens a door for us and gestures us inside. 

“Welcome to the Slytherin common room!”


End file.
